things. let's not hope for the fact that we all run at of money in government cannot do anything. i think we will be in worse shape if that happens. host: this is brian on the independent line from indiana. caller: think you c-span. here in indiana, tif the state budget did the past, the governor was going to start shutting down things like the lottery in casinos -- and casinos that make money for the state and people, and i just do not understand that. i was raised in indiana in an auto town.

we had general motors and chrysler there. we had delco all over the city. delco started taking jobs away from kokomo and at least 70's. the auto industry started taking our jobs away and long time ago. manufacturing has made this country the power that we have starting in the 1950's. it employed thousands of people at the big companies, and we started losing taxes ever since. we started losing taxes ever since the company started going overseas. we have a company that when eight reopens -- when it re- opened it started bussing the

legal people. -- illegal people. guest: if the state has to shut down because they do not have the budget in place, all kinds of things will happen. that is the same. otherwise, as he pointed out, we have lost manufacturing jobs. they are not coming back, so we have to fill out the new economy. they are starting to focus on that in washington. it is not an easy situation. host: california in particular. let's talk about california for a little bit. california readies 30,000 ious. thousands more will be printed in the next week if a deal cannot be reached.

it is the equivalent of a months funding for programs that provide supplemental income to the elderly. a tweet that we received from howard% california's ious made it legal tender fight a government decree. guest: this is an unprecedented situation. hopefully they get back up soon. california is a special case in many ways. some of their wounds are self- inflicted in california. this is a state that 30 years ago limited property taxes. now the state revenue has declined in the cannot afford it. it is a state required a two-

thirds vote on the legislature to pass a budget. small minority in california can bring gridlock. there is talk of re-visiting these rules. host: next question or comment comes from the democrats' line. this caller is from new jersey. guescaller: in new jersey we haa sales tax, a real-estate tax, we have casinos, toll roads, and we are still having problems. the real problem is what you said before about pensions. it is unsustainable at the rate they are going. neither candidate running this time is even mentioning it because it is political suicide. that is it. thank you.

guest: one of the problems in new jersey, is back in the 1990 cost -- 1990's they did not find the pensions. -- the dy did not fund the pensions. instead they cut taxes. they told the people we are saving money. here we are now. host: the next telephone call comes from virginia. this is the republicans line. caller: you guys have been in washington, d.c., way too long. host: you are not very far away from washington d.c.

caller: all you are doing is transferring debt from one pocket to the other. government is not the end all be all ever won -- of everyone's existence. we are the ones carrying the burden. this massive stimulus package that the government passed, someone will have to pay for it and it is the rest of the people in the real world, not washington. you guys are government focus. think of those that are carrying the burden. that is all i have to say. host: this discussion is what happens to you as a tax and in-- as the taxes are increased? >> president obama has been meeting with his aides today. live coverage here on c-span.

host: calle[captioning performey national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] >> could afternoon, everyone. -- good afternoon, everyone. i just held a meeting with some of the ceos of the energy efficient companies of america. as our economy advanced -- and adapts to the challenges of the new century, new ways of saving in distributing energy offer a unique opportunity to create millions of jobs for the american people. obviously this is a timely discussion on the day of sobering news. the job figures released this morning showed that we've lost 467,000 jobs last month.

while the average loss of about 4000 jobs this quarter is less devastating than the 700,000 per month that we lost in the previous quarter, and while there are continuing signs that the recession is slowing, obviously this is little comfort to all of those americans who have lost their jobs. we have taken extraordinary measures to blunt the harsh measures of the economy. but as i have said from the moment that i walk through the door, it took years for us to get into this mess, and it will take as more than a few months to turn it around. that is why the discussion that we have today is so important. it is men and women like these who will help lead us out of this recession and into a better future. my job, and our job as a government is to do what ever we can to unleash the great

generative power is of the american economy by encouraging their efforts. i am absolutely positive that we can. i am confident that we are not only going to recover from this recession in the short-term, but we will prosper in the long- term. to do that, we have to act now to build a new foundation. energy is one of the pillars of this new foundation. essential both to our recovery in our long-term prosperity. i am pleased to say that we have achieved more in the last few months to create a new, clean energy economy than we have achieved in many decades before. the recovery plan will double our country's supply of renewable energy. thanks to a new partnership between auto workers in states, we set in motion a new policy to

decrease in carbon emissions from all the trucks and cars sold in this country, which will save us 1.8 billion billionarref oil. this will prevent the worst consequences of climate change, and it holds the promise of millions of new jobs. jobs that cannot be outsourced. the ceo standing behind me know a lot about these types of companies. these are people whose companies are helping to lead the transformation towards a clean energy future. even as we face tough economic times, even as we continue to lose jobs, the ceos told me here they are looking to hire new people, in some cases even double or triple in size in the next few years. they are making money and helping their customers save money on the energy front.

these companies are a vivid example of the kind of future we can create, but it is now up to the senate to continue the work that was started in the house. we will need to set aside the politics, and when we put aside the old ideological debates that our choice is clear. if the choice is slow decline in a renewed prosperity, the choice between the past and future. the american people, i believe, want us to make the right choice. i am confident that the senate will. every junction in our history, we have chosen to seize its opportunities. we have chosen to take responsibility. -- we had chosen to seize big opportunities. this is what we will do once again. thank you, everybody.

>> [unintelligible] >> many of those businesses started at small businesses, and they are now getting to be big business is because of the extraordinary opportunities that are out there. another message is that they should probably contact some of the ceos because it turns out they can save small businesses and large businesses alike up to 20% or 30% on their energy usage. when you hear the innovation that is taking place, everything from led lighting that can save a huge amount on energy costs, to new concrete materials that last longer and are water-proof, from the inside out and that

will mean the bridges and roads can last longer 20 or 30 years longer than using conventional concrete, when you look at what is being done with solar energy -- right now in places like houston, the fact that many of these countries are exporting their goods and services, but unfortunately their biggest markets right now are direct -- are europe who in japan because we have not done enough to emphasize clean energy in our own country. one of the things that i have consistently talked about since i took office, and on a day where we see that our economy is still having a tough time getting moving, is we're going to have to shoot for the future and not look backwards.

so much of the debate around health care, so much of the debate around energy has been based on this idea that somehow if we stand still and we do not do anything, that we will be better off. that is just not how this world works. it is certainly not how the modern economy works. we know we will have to change how we use energy. we know we will have to change how we operate our health care system. we know we will have to change how we train our young people to compete in this new global economy. so to make the argument that somehow we should just walk in on the status quo, or perpetuate the same policies that got us into the same mess it in the first place and that will solve our problems, does not make any sense. what these people are all of that is the future. that is what america has always been about. we are not folks who are scared

of the future or look backwards. we always meet the challenges by moving forward. that is what i think will happen this time as well. thank you. >> [unintelligible] >> i was just talking to the secretary chu is how "will consult with these outstanding people on how we can improve energy efficiency here. [laughter] >> [unintelligible] >> president obama with business leaders at the white house. the associated press reports that the attorney for general motors urged a judge to approve the plan. the only other option would have horrific consequences for everyone. we spoke with edward montgomery

this morning. this is about half an hour. >> well, edward montgomery. -- welcome. he has taken on this task from his former post at the university of maryland, where he served as dean. what is your job mission? >> my job is to try to bring together people from the communities that have been impacted by the significant decline in the auto industry that has occurred over the course of the last eight years. to work with state government and local officials to figure out what they need for moving forward and also had to plan for a recovery and expansion and new job creation opportunities. if to work with the various federal agencies to make certain that the resources made

available are used to help these communities, to cut through red tape to make sure they get access to those resources. >> we are going to talk about the communities that have been hardest hit by the challenges and the auto industry. we will put the phone numbers on the screen. we would like to get your perspective on this. would you like to list the top five that are most affected by this? guest: if you look at the auto industry, it is very heavily concentrated in michigan, ohio, and indiana. those are the big estates in terms of employment for autoworkers. places like michigan, detroit -- day troy, mich., are very concentrated period -- places like detroiit, mich., are very

concentrated. host: what are you finding when you talk to people there? guest: people are tough and they're focused on the future. they realize they have been hit hard. they are dealing with unemployment rates and the 15% to 20% range. this impedes their ability to pay property taxes. the challenges that individual families are confronting, but they are really determined and focused on the future. each one is approaching it in a slightly different way. they are focused on diversifying. how did they get into the new industries? host: that was really my

question is this really a question of recognition of the future? guest: if you look at auto sales, they are at a 40-year low. they are selling 9 million vehicles per year. whereas seven years ago, we were selling 16 million vehicles per year. everyone would expect and forecast the auto sales will come back from the current record low levels, but it is clear that over time manufacturing has become a smaller share of total employment, and communities are diversifying out of manufacturing. with regard to manufacturing, to different parts of it. they are looking at how to get into green jobs. how to get into solar energy and things like that. these are going to be big growth areas of the next 10 years.

host: there is a story talking about a shift in driving habits. the nation's 12-month total has dropped by 123 billion miles or slightly more than 4%. that is a bigger decline than the drop of just above 3% to during the 1979-1980 iranian revolution. many say there has been a real society shifts. guest: i think it is clear that people are changing the types of cars that they are driving in buying. -- and buying. there is a lot more emphasis on fuel efficiency and that type of pattern. it there -- it very may well be that there will be a change in

driving habits. the auto industry will play a big role and we will come back to a high level of sales. perhaps not the 16 million, but maybe somewhere in between. host: let's begin with the democrats' line. caller: i am so glad to be able to ask you coming here in michigan we are finding it is nearly impossible to find funding for new small businesses. how is the federal government going to assist the states or more or less insist that the issue money [unintelligible] . right now they only have the fda

and their criteria. there needs to be an alternative source. if we could have small, little alice that the government would fund financing, it would be really great. host: what is your idea for a business? caller: that would be one of them. i would like to have an outlet such as this. host: to help people get mike rowlands -- micro loans. guest: this comes out of the collapsed of the problems in the banking system, and so part of their recovery has to be to restore credit. it is critically important for homeowners to be able to get access to mortgages. it is critically important for small businesses to be able to get working capital.

the president has invested loss of money in supporting the banks and getting them into a position where they can return to help and begin to increase lending. there is some hopeful signs that the lending is starting to take effect, but we have not put all the eggs in that basket. the small business administration expanded access to a 7 a loan program. it has a new program called karr programs that allows people to use receivables. there is another program that people may be less aware of through the department of congress. many other regional offices have revolving credit funds to use us for this purpose of making micro

loans to small businesses. host: this is from the bankruptcy court. if general motors wins approval for the assets sell at this week, they could be ready to make an initial public offering. the government will withdraw its portion of the $33 billion debtor in possession financing for gm. this is from harry wilson, a member of the task force. he said we cannot make an open- ended commitment. guest: clearly we inherited and general motors and chrysler that were in very deep trouble just at the end of last year. have lost around $70 billion over the last two home years and they were hanging by a thread. the president came in and made a

commitment, but was not willing to make an open-ended commitment. we're trying to strike the balance. no one thought we could do it with chrysler, but they have emerged in record timing. we're hoping we can do the same with general motors. host: we had taken a camera to a flint, michigan. they are dealing with the auto industry crisis. we will look at this as we listen to our next caller. this is on the independent line. caller: i was wondering, with the amounts of money that we have spent to bail out general motors out and all the other stimulus money, and your guest give us a realistic view of how they are going to bring general

motors back and pay us this money back? i am talking about numbers. i am very skeptical that we will ever see that money. guest: you know, the administration and the experts that worked on the task force to put together the general motors package talk to a wide range of industry people, a wide range of experts. they went through multiple scenarios and assumptions about sales and market share and a variety of things like that, and they became convinced that there was a reasonable chance that this was 2016 and that the company would be successful. they would be both an ongoing and viable entity and could pay the investment that was put into this. the important thing to remember is that we came to this reluctantly. we can to the situation facing in that -- facing an who

economic crisis. general motors had been in trouble and not made some hard decision. so the president stayed -- stepped forward and make hard decisions. -- made hard decision. s. host: mr. montgomery served as the chief economist in the labor department. the next phone call is from oklahoma. this is james on the republican line. caller: seems to me like the whole problem is with the auto industry and the labor union they have. they are paying some third-grade dropouts who to drill a hole and they get more money than a professor in college.

that is why you get all of it out to get cheaper labor. it is time to wake up america. thank you very much. host: looking at pictures of flint, michigan. mr. montgomery. guest: that is simply not true. their productivity rates match those we find in other countries. if you look at recent analysis of the auto firms, when they are competitive as the transplants and the united states. clearly the auto workers made significant concessions to keep general motors and business, and they took lower wages and date of health care. they gave up a variety of different benefits. they sacrifice a lot for the sake of this company. they are constructive part of

taking a step forward for the future. host:this is cora, when a general motors retiree. -- a general motors retiress. e. caller: one of the things that was prevented it was the help and care. i was concerned about how they will help us in that respect. guest: it is very clear that the auto workers made significant sacrifices, and the retirees and made significant sacrifices as you just laid out. the loss of health care are significant concessions. bondholders